Rent Rock 'N' Roll High School (1979)
3.3 of 5 from 57 ratings
1h 33min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Vince Lombardi High School keeps losing principals to nervous breakdowns because of the students' love of rock 'n' roll and their disregard of education. The putative leader of the students is Riff Randell, who loves the music of the Ramones. A new principal, the rock music hating Miss Evelyn Togar, is brought in and promises to put an end to the music craze. When Miss Togar and a group of parents attempt to burn a pile of rock records, the students take over the high school, joined by the Ramones, who are made honorary students. When the police are summoned and demand that the students evacuate the building, they do so, which leads to an explosive finale.
- Actors:
- P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young, Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, Don Steele, Alix Elias, Loren Lester, Daniel Davies, Lynn Farrell, Herbie Braha, Grady Sutton, Chris Somma, Marla Rosenfield, Barbara Ann Grimes, Terry Soda, Joe Van Sickle, Joey Ramone
- Directors:
- Allan Arkush, Joe Dante
- Producers:
- Michael Finnell
- Writers:
- Richard Whitley, Russ Dvonch, Joseph McBride, Allan Arkush, Joe Dante
- Aka:
- Heavy Metal Kids / High School Spirit of '76 USA / California Girls / Girls' Gym
- Studio:
- Prism Leisure
- Genres:
- Comedy, Music & Musicals
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch Next If You Liked This Is Spinal Tap, Back to School: Best Films Featuring Teachers, Films & TV by topic, Films to Watch If You Like..., Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1979
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 27/06/2022
- Run Time:
- 93 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Class Of '79: 40 Years Of Rock 'N' Roll High School, featuring interviews with filmmakers and cast
- Commentary with director Allan Arkush, producer Mike Finnell and screenwriter Richard Whitley
- Commentary with executive producer Roger Corman and actress Dey Young
- Commentary with Allan Arkush and actors P.J. Soles and Clint Howard
- Commentary with screenwriters Richard Whitley and Russ Dvonch
- Back To School: A Retrospective, with interviews from Allan Arkush, Roger Corman and more
- Staying After Class: An interview with actors P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten and Dey Young
- Interview with Roger Corman conducted by Leonard Maltin
- Interview with Allan Arkush including a look at rare, behind-the-scenes stills
- Audio outtakes from the Roxy
- Original radio ads and TV spots
- Theatrical trailer
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Reviews (1) of Rock 'N' Roll High School
Loud, Cheap, and Built to Last - Rock 'N' Roll High School review by griggs
Teen rebellion with a guitar riff and a tidy profit margin — Roger Corman could probably smell this one coming from the car park. Riff Randell runs the school like she's already been crowned, and honestly, given how easily she flusters anyone with a clipboard, fair enough. The Ramones don't perform so much as materialise: plug in, glare, play three chords, vanish — genius casting, especially if it cost buttons.
Corman's cheap, gleeful fingerprints are on every frame: thin sets, broad jokes, a headmistress fighting a war she was always going to lose. The plot's thin as a B-side, more scaffolding than story, though once the songs kick in, nobody's checking the joins. The jokes are noisier than clever, a couple of scenes overstay their welcome, and the villains are about as subtle as a snare drum.
Still, it's scrappy, sugar-rushed, and somehow built to last. Three chords, one filing cabinet of detention slips, and by the end the whole school's in bits.
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